A CONTROVERSIAL penalty cost Warrington Town victory against play-off rivals Whitby Town.
Whereas last week they felt aggrieved over a penalty not awarded to them, this week it was a decision to give a penalty against them that raised eyebrows.
Evan Gumbs looked to have won the ball off Brad Fewster in the box midway through the second half, but Harry Green was afforded the opportunity to equalise from the spot.
Josh Amis had given the Yellows a first half lead in a game played in difficult windy conditions in North Yorkshire.
The conditions meant few chances and low quality, with neither goalkeeper even called in to a save during the 90 minutes.
The wind even saw the referee’s red card blown out of his pocket in the early exchanges.
Warrington, missing suspended midfielder Jay Harris, started positively and for the first five minutes were camped in Whitby’s half.
Jordan Buckley screwed a shot wide and at the other end, the league’s top goal scorer Jacob Hazel – who has one more than Buckley – first shot wide and then lashed over after latching on to a ball that was missed by an injured Mitch Duggan.
Duggan seemingly pulled a hamstring in stretching for that ball and was forced off, replaced by Gumbs who slotted in to a back three alongside Mark Roberts and Matt Regan.
The opening goal came on 36 minutes when Lewis Coulton’s cross was held up in the wind and nodded back by Jordan Buckley.
Whitby failed to clear and Amis swooped on the bounce with a low drive on the turn in to the bottom corner.
For a while, it looked like being a priceless goal for the Yellows, who remain below Whitby in the table.
With the wind at their backs, Whitby had the better of the second half but hadn’t looked like scoring until the game’s major talking point.
On a counter attack, Fewster cut inside Gumbs and dummied past both Regan and Roberts to get through on goal and just as he was about to shoot Gumbs got back and poked the ball to safety.
But to the surprise of most and with no noticeable appeals from the home side, the referee pointed to the spot.
Gumbs was booked for the foul and up stepped Green to send Dan Atherton the wrong way.
Neither side looked like adding to the scoreline in the final quarter, both no doubt aware of how important it was not to lose given the context of the game.
Warrington’s focus now turns to next Saturday’s home match against Grantham, the first of two home games in four days.
Whitby: Bland, Ible (Fergus), Sukar, Griffiths, Rowe, Burn, Dijksteel (Gell), Hawkins, Hazel, Fewster (Shepherd), Green. Unused subs: Dyer, Hackett.
Warrington: Atherton, Baillie, Coulton, Duggan (Gumbs), Roberts, Regan, Dixon, Williams, Amis, Buckley (Mackreth), Duffy (Mols). Unused subs: Hough, Bell
